Why am I passionate about this?
I’ve worked in technology for more than a decade, living and working in Silicon Valley, where ideas that sound futuristic can feel inevitable and only a heartbeat away. It can sometimes feel strange, being surrounded by people building the next big thing while still wondering what any of it will actually mean for people, relationships, and society.
That tension is why I write near-future fiction. I love books with big ideas, but I also want heat, romance, ambition, and messy human choices. I’m drawn to stories that bring those worlds together—and ask what happens when the future arrives before we’ve figured out what it means for us.
Olivia's book list on Silicon Valley: sex, power, technology and ambition
Why Olivia loves this book
I love how this book told the story of technology that feels only slightly ahead of reality.
I was working at Google at the time that I read this, and what resonated with me was the enormous amounts of data being collected, the optimism around what that data could enable, and the subtle ways algorithms were already beginning to shape human behavior.
It made me start thinking about where those nudges could ultimately lead. And it’s not just the amount of data being collected, but how willingly people embrace it when the experience is good enough, and it comes beautifully packaged.
That’s a similar idea I explore in my book: how much control we willingly hand over to our technology overlords in exchange for free email, better-targeted advertising, and a little more convenience.
12 authors picked The Circle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson and John Boyega
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - a dark, thrilling and unputdownable novel about our obsession with the internet
'Prepare to be addicted' Daily Mail
'A gripping and highly unsettling read' Sunday Times
'The Circle is 'Brave New World' for our brave new world... Fast, witty and troubling' Washington Post
When Mae is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Run out of a sprawling California campus, the Circle links users' personal emails,…
